


Of lies and werewolves

by mithborien



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dubious Consent, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-10-17
Updated: 2005-10-17
Packaged: 2017-10-19 16:53:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/203061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mithborien/pseuds/mithborien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Remus realises that sometimes, if the truth is worse than the lie, it’s easier just to take the lie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of lies and werewolves

She is standing at the window, soft edges gone hard and eyes wide and distorted in her reflection upon the glass. The only sound that can be heard is the distant honk and screech of traffic and the faint rustling of the wind. He can’t even hear her breathing.

She turns then, fingers clenched white at her sides and red lips flat and compressed. There’s a glint to her eyes that speaks of betrayal and horror. Remus knows that look. He’s seen it for most of his life.

He has just told his girlfriend that he’s a werewolf.

\+ + +

Remus Lupin had never set much stock by girls. There were a few brief dates back at school but they never lasted long when the full moon rolled around and said girl found herself bereft of a partner without explanation. He didn’t mind so much, having long ago become accustomed to the fact that as a werewolf his life would be irrevocably different to the norm.

He would see his friends take out pretty girls to clubs and restaurants and wish for a brief moment that he was the one in their place, with a sweet smelling woman on his arm, laughing at his jokes and making him feel wanted. But life had never given Remus what he desired and he didn’t think it was going to start now. So he dealt with the jealousy and longing and moved on to trying to earn enough money to pay his bills for the next month.

After school, there were a couple more brief dalliances but they were ones that never lasted when Remus ended them before they could properly start. Never allowing himself to become attached to something that he knew would only end in time.

Of course, fate was never kind and one girl had to be different. One girl he actually liked.

\+ + +

She takes a deep breath and opens her mouth but no words come.

He stays where he is seated on the couch, head bowed and hands loose beside him. He’s said all he has need to and has left their relationship up to her now. He just couldn’t bear lying to her anymore.

“You’re a werewolf?” she finally says, the shock of his admission only barely beginning to set in.

He nods wordlessly.

“Well, that explains some things,” she murmurs. “How long?”

“Since I was a young boy,” he replies just as quietly. “Don’t really remember before it happened.”

“Right,” she says under her breath then starts to stare off to the side.

When it’s clear she isn’t going to say anymore he starts to speak. “Look, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just… you mean so much to me and I didn’t want to scare you off or screw things up.”

He reaches out a hand. “I don’t want to lie to you anymore.”

She jerks away from his hand like she was burned. “Don’t touch me,” she snaps. “God, don’t touch me.”

He freezes at the pure venom in her voice, looks up to see her eyes set hard in anger. “I didn’t mean to-“

“What?” she barks. “Didn’t meant to what, Remus? Lie to me? Deceive me? Oh, I think you did.”

“I didn’t!” he pleads as he surges to his feet.

She rounds on him furiously. “Of course, you did. Because you knew that no girl would want to be with you if they knew what a monster you are.”

Remus feels his heart start to pound. “Please, don’t…”

He reaches for her again to try and calm her but she pulls away again with a snarl and backs off a couple of steps. “For god’s sake, I said don’t touch me.” She runs her fingers through her hair. “God, I can’t believe I have been letting something like you touch me.”

Remus blinks hard. “I thought you would understand,” he says quietly.

She just glares at him again and snatches up her bag. “There’s nothing to understand. I’ve heard the stories. Your kind should have been exterminated a long time ago.”

His eyes harden and without thinking he reaches out again to stop her leaving. She dodges his hands with a screech and reaches the door.

“Do that again,” she growls, “and I’ll have you up on charges at the Ministry. I’m sure they would love to get their paws on someone like you. They would tear you apart if they thought you harmed me.”

Remus feels his breath catch in his throat, the threat more dangerous than she knew. The Ministry would, in fact, literally tear him apart. They also, he thinks bitterly to himself, have done a remarkable job on propaganda against werewolves.

“So that’s that,” he says when he’s sure his voice won’t break. “Everything we shared is over, just like that. I haven’t changed and you just throw everything away.”

She laughs harshly at him and he can almost imagine his heart shrivelling up inside his chest. “Everything we shared, Remus, was a lie.” She opens the door, pauses, then looks him straight in the eye and all he can see is cold, unforgiving prejudice. “Don’t touch me, don’t talk to me, don’t come near me again or I swear the whole of wizarding Britain will know what a horrifying beast you-“

“OBLIVIATE!”

He doesn’t realise what word he’s shouted, or that his hand is gripping his outstretched wand until he connects the wandering blank look in her eyes with the after-effects of the spell.

She is still standing by the open door, one hand falling off the doorknob and one exquisitely heeled foot dragging along the floor.

He sits down heavily upon the couch, his harsh breathing now the only thing he can hear which is somewhat worse then the words she was spouting out before.

After a moment though, his survival instinct kicks in and he takes one of her limp hands and guides her back to the couch and makes her sit down. He performs the necessary charms to alter her memory then sits down beside her. When she wakes up, he’ll tell her that she was tired when she came over, that she really is working far too hard and no wonder that she fell asleep almost immediately when she sat down.

He doesn’t know why he’s doing what he’s doing but the thought of losing her, even after she had spurned him, is too much to bear. He has suffered people turning away from him all his life and in these dark times, even having the slightest form of comfort, however meagre or fake is worth more to him then he could imagine.

He’ll break up with her in a couple of months, he isn’t that cruel or deceiving but he wants some fond moments to remember her by rather than callous words and revolted glares.

\+ + +

“Ah, my dear sir and lady, welcome to the Sirona.” The waiter bows humbly. “Your table is ready and right this way.”

He darts away through the press of tables and Remus takes his girlfriend’s hand and follows without a word. He looks back and sees her wide, slightly empty smile upon her perfect face.

It disgusts him just how comforting that smile is but as they sit down and take out the menus he realises that he’ll take it all the same.


End file.
